Legal threat no joke for Fringe comedian

Published on Monday 15 June 2009 22:47

LEGAL action is being threatened against an American comedian who claims he has secured an 11th-hour sponsorship deal for the biggest comedy awards at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Lewis Schaffer issued news releases saying he is the new sponsor of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, the long-running contest previously backed by Perrier and Intelligent Finance.

But Mr Schaffer, who said the awards were being renamed the Lewies in his honour, has been forced to withdraw his claims after the event's founder, Nica Burns, called in solicitors.

She objected to Mr Schaffer attributing a number of false quotes to a "Nika Burns" (sic), saying she had "gladly accepted" the deal after being offered a package worth just 99 a year.

The lawyer's letter said the statement by the comic was libellous and that damage to the reputation of Ms Burns would be "very substantial" if anyone was to take it seriously. It added: "Whilst our client would not be involved with a significant comedy award if she was bereft of a sense of humour, this has gone too far.'

The New York-based comedian, who is staging a free show at this year's Fringe, claimed previous backer Intelligent Finance had been forced to pull out after trading standards officers said it could not use the name.

The comedy awards are only going ahead after Ms Burns, a veteran theatre producer, decided to pay 100,000 from her own pocket. She said: "People have always used the comedy awards for publicity. The problem was that he hadn't thought it through and made up some ludicrous comedy name. What he used was too close to my real name. If you Google Nika Burns it comes up with me."

The comedian said yesterday that he had withdrawn the "spoof" sponsorship messages from circulation. "My agent got a letter from the head of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards' lawyer saying I had to cease and desist. Yes, not kidding."